


The Change Reaction Aftermath

by PrePsychPineappleLover



Category: The Big Bang Theory (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:42:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24336076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrePsychPineappleLover/pseuds/PrePsychPineappleLover
Summary: "I like you better the way you were." - "I like the way I look." - "Well, I don't!"And we never found out how Sheldon and Amy reconciled after that in 12x23 "The Change Constant". This is a missing scene moment, exploring what could have happened when Sheldon returned to the apartment after having drinks with Penny.-already posted on fanfiction, too-
Relationships: Sheldon Cooper/Amy Farrah Fowler
Comments: 1
Kudos: 33





	The Change Reaction Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, tomorrow marks the day that Sheldon and Amy met 10 YEARS AGO! :)  
> To celebrate I'm going to share two oneshots (one today and one tomorrow) with all the Shamy-lovers out there! I already posted them some time ago on fanfiction, but if you haven't read them yet, I hope you'll enjoy!
> 
> As a reminder, in the preultimate episode, Amy changed her looks and Sheldon blatantly stated that he doesn't like it. The episode ended before we could see how Sheldon made up for that error. That's where this story begins...

_‘Ding’_

The doors of the elevator slid open and Sheldon and Penny stepped out onto the 4th floor landing.

“Wow. That went fast.” Sheldon mused.

“See, I told you.” Penny said. “Wasn’t that bad, huh?”

“It will still take time until I’m entirely comfortable without the everyday trudge up and down the stairs.” Sheldon held vehemently.

Penny rolled her eyes upon her friend’s quirkiness and stumbled a bit. “Whoopsie.” she giggled. “I guess that was just one too many glasses of vodka.” She fumbled with her keys to 4A.

“Wait.” Sheldon exclaimed suddenly.

“What?”

Sheldon bit his lip and guiltily eyed the floor. “When I left the apartment after seeing Amy's transformation… I may have said… hurtful things to Amy.”

“Oh, Sheldon…” Penny groaned.

“I know, I know I probably made her angry, I-I didn’t mean to.” Sheldon explained hastily. “It’s just that… I was overwhelmed and didn’t know how to react, so I fled. I know it was wrong and that I have to make it up to her somehow… but… I’m not quite sure, how much damage was done.”

“Well…” Penny said. “I guess there’s only one way to find out.” With that she turned back to the door and opened it boldly. “Hey, we’re back.” she greeted the three people inside.

Upon entering, Sheldon immediately searched for Amy’s face, seeing that her glum sadness was still visible. But in the next second, he was already distracted by the mess on the floor and the nervous, shifty-eyed figure standing next to his destroyed DNA model.

“ _What on earth happened here!”_ he screeched and instantly zeroed in on his former roommate; Leonard actually flinched and took a half-step back.

“Uhm…” his bespectacled, short friend could only utter.

“Leonard!” Sheldon boomed again. “What have I specifically told you about the DNA model?”

“Uh… d-don’t touch it?” he wheezed pathetically.

“And what have _you_ done?”

“Uhm, uh… I… I-I—“

“In his defense…” Raj suddenly spoke up, saving Leonard from Sheldon’s death-glare by now finding himself at the end of it. “You never specified _why_ he shouldn’t touch it.”

“I considered this a moot point since I already forbade him from messing with it.” Sheldon railed. “I put it in a separate paragraph in the roommate agreement!"

“Yeah, well, you don’t live here anymore!” Leonard finally dared to argue back. “And since this is now _my_ apartment I’m allowed to change anything that bothers me without asking for your permission.”

“Well, now you see what happens when you’re changing something without my permission.” Sheldon pointed out.

“Oh, yeah, we have all seen _that_.” Leonard grumbled dryly and looked apologetically at the only silent person in the room.

“Speaking of changes!” Penny spoke up above the arguing friends. “Can we talk about Amy’s amazing new look!?” With that she irrevocably put everyone’s focus on said silent person, who obviously had enough of unwanted attention. Grinning in disbelief and glee, Penny motioned up and down at her bestie. “I heard you made some changes for yourself, but no one prepared me for _this_!”

Amy shifted uncomfortably on the sofa and looked to the floor in embarrassment. Raj quickly took it upon himself to answer for her.

“Oh, yeah. That’s my creation.” he said.

“Don’t call Amy ‘your creation’ as if she’s a mannequin you can play dress-up with.” Sheldon exclaimed snippily.

Raj ignored him. “What do you think, Penny? She’s looking sexy, right?”

“Absolutely!” Penny agreed, putting a friendly hand upon Amy’s shoulder. When she still looked downwards, she added, “Really, Amy, you look fantastic.”

Finally, Amy glanced up. She put up a very weak, strained smile for Penny, but then she suddenly looked sadder than ever to Sheldon. “Thanks, Penny.” Amy said quietly; a visible shiver ran through her body. “At least one person can appreciate my decisions.” she said and then immediately shook Penny off to run for the door.

“Amy, wait…” Sheldon called after her, but the door already slammed shut, leaving heavy silence behind.

“Oh, I get it.” Penny grumbled after a short pause, glaring at Sheldon. “ _That’s_ the hurtful thing you said to her.”

Sheldon didn’t respond. “Excuse me. I have to go after her.” He hurried to the door, but paused shortly before he went through. He pivoted at the spot, throwing an angry finger at Leonard. “You and I will glue this model together, piece by piece. And if it takes us the rest of our lives.”

“Yes, sir.” Leonard mumbled sheepishly, but then shook himself as he realized how pathetic he just sounded.

Satisfied, Sheldon closed the door and wanted to storm into apartment 4B. He paused at the last second, gathering himself. This was going to be a delicate conversation, one where he doesn’t shine at and he knew it. But he had to put things right again. He didn’t mean to hurt Amy. Timidly, he knocked.

“Amy?”

When she didn’t answer, Sheldon slowly pushed the door open, but he found the living room empty. “Amy?” he called again, carefully walking over to the bedroom door and peeking in. Empty. He wanted to call again, when he heard it:

Quiet sobs, coming from the bathroom.

Sheldon’s heart sank.

 _She’s crying. Because of what_ I _said to her._ I _made her cry!_

Quickly, he made his way over to the bathroom door, intending to push it open and take her into his arms and apologize profusely… but it was locked.

“Amy?” he knocked urgently. “It’s me. Can you please open the door?”

“No. Go away.” came the muffled, sobbing reply.

His heart skipped a beat and then again drummed twice as fast. Anxiety rose unrelentingly. _It’s worse than I thought. How can I fix this? I_ need _to be able to fix this._

Sheldon knocked again. “Amy, please…” he begged. “I-I know I behaved poorly. I shouldn’t have said those… those terrible things to you. Believe me, I never meant to hurt you. Please, open up.” He listened, but it remained silent on the other side of the door.

“Amy, I’m sorry…” Sheldon’s voice wavered. He was apologizing; what else could he do? He knew that it was pathetic compared to the pain he obviously caused Amy before, but… dear lord, _what else_ could he do?

“I… I was overwhelmed…” Sheldon explained desperately. “I know that’s no excuse to lash out at you, but… that’s already done and I’m sorry. I wish I could change it.”

 _“Change it?!”_ he heard her spitting those words out with dark, biting sarcasm. Suddenly, the lock rattled and the door abruptly swung open.

Amy stood behind it. Streaks of black mascara ran down her angry, reddened cheeks. Her new, wavy short hair bounced with the swiftness of her movement. The new dark-blue dress gleamed dimly against her fair, exposed skin.

Sheldon couldn’t comprehend why he hadn’t seen it before.

She looked stunning.

“Guess what…” Amy hissed angrily. “I had to face changes, too. I was overwhelmed by the exact same things as you. The attention from the media, from our colleagues, even from our friends. I knew that this was hard on you, so I pulled through tedious, long interviews without you, answered the same questions over and over again and awkwardly posed for photos I wasn’t prepared for. I thought I’d be strong enough… but I wasn’t. I needed you!” she sobbed again. “I needed my partner, my fellow Nobel Prize winner. I needed my husband. _But you weren’t there_!”

Each of those last words were like a dagger pushed deeply into Sheldon’s heart, making him feel like he was bleeding out…

And he deserved it.

“Instead of helping each other through these turbulent times, you distanced yourself from me and sought comfort with the only companion you apparently think could help you with your problems.” Amy continued and wiped the wetness from her cheeks. But it was to no use because that only spread her mascara even more and new tears ceaselessly followed. “Don’t get me wrong, I love Penny, too… b-but it hurts that you obviously can’t trust me like you trust her.”

Sheldon opened his mouth to protest weakly, but Amy already held up her hand and cut him off.

“Don’t say that you know her longer than you know me. It’s been only three years and I’m your _wife,_ dammit!”

The air was seemingly humming between them; the weight and the anger in Amy’s words caused it to vibrate. She sobbed… she _cried_ in front of him. But even though only one step was separating them, Sheldon never felt so far away from her. _He_ was the cause of her tears. This simple fact was keeping him from closing the space between them. She wouldn’t allow it. But _what else_ could he do?

 _Is there_ something _I can do?_

“A-Amy…” he whispered. _I love you. I love you so damn much._ He wanted to say these words to her, but they got stuck in his throat, held back by his fear and his shock that he had done it again:

He ruined everything.

He ruined what could have been one of the happiest days of their lives. The day they found out that they've actually won the Nobel Prize together. Their life-long dream.

A jolt went through Amy as she straightened herself. Teary-eyed she looked at him… then she squeezed past him without saying another word.

Sheldon forced his muscles to react, forced himself to follow her. Amy grabbed her purse from the bed and her jacket from the back of the sofa.

Panic skyrocketed. “Amy, no! Please, wait.”

She whirled around. “You had your moment of contemplation with Penny. Now let me have my own. I need to… I need to leave for a bit and clear my head.”

Sheldon swallowed. His heart screamed at him to throw himself at her feet, to beg and plead her not to go. But his head nodded anyway. “O-Okay.” he breathed out shakily.

Amy pressed her own lips together and turned to leave.

“Amy?” he called out fearfully once more. She halted and looked back. “You… y-you will come back, won’t you?” Sheldon asked her helplessly.

She nodded curtly and quickly went out the door.

* * *

Two hours later, Sheldon paced up and down the living room like a mad man.

_What could possibly take her so long? How long did it take before I returned? Where is she? What is she thinking about? When will she return?_

_…She_ will _return, right?_

This thought stood out to him more than the others; it was the root of his overwhelming, exponentially growing fear.

 _Or what if she’s hurt?_ Sheldon then pondered. _What if somebody snuck up to her and dragged her into a dark alley to do horrible, unthinkable things to her? What if she want to… but_ can’t _return?_

Possibilities were playing out in Sheldon’s brain and he wasn’t able to stop it.

“That’s it. I’ve waited long enough.” he decided suddenly and grabbed his phone to call his wife. Moments later a happy tune came from the direction of their bedroom. Sheldon went over to check on it and sure enough, there was Amy’s phone laying on her bedside table, plugged into the charger.

Sheldon exclaimed a rarely used curse word and ended the call. The tune stopped.

Frantically, he considered his next move. “I should go look for her.” Sheldon said aloud. His long strides carried him quickly towards the door… where he paused with his hand already on the doorknob. “But what if she returns and I’m not here?”

He couldn’t risk it. Maybe she would interpret his absence as indifference. Then she would become even more upset and then what would she do? Leave him for good?

_No, I can’t lose her. Not today, not ever. Not over a stupid fight like this._

Sheldon quickly opened the door and subsequently the door to apartment 4A, intending to ask Leonard and Penny for help. But as soon as he stepped in, Sheldon froze.

He grimaced as he heard weird, obnoxious noises coming from down the hall and hastily stumbled backwards to close the door again.

 _Okay, so Leonard and Penny are out,_ he reasoned calmly so he wouldn’t freak out. Going back into his own apartment, he stared at his phone, swiping up and down in his contact list and trying to decide if he should call Howard or Raj next.

His taking-charge-attitude usually put Howard in favor when Sheldon was having a problem and Leonard wasn’t available to him, but this time Raj was somehow more involved in this whole mess, so Sheldon called him.

The fact that he was still a bit mad at Raj for talking Amy into changing her appearance supported his decision to disturb him at such a late hour.

Raj sighed as he picked up the phone. “Sheldon, what do you want?” he asked in his thick Indian accent. “I won’t apologize or let you yell at me for helping Amy through a tough time. Something that is supposed to be your job as her husband, by the way. She was miserable when I found her at work today and later she felt really confident when she walked out that store in Beverly Hills. I didn’t push her to do anything she didn’t want to, I swear.”

“Raj…” Sheldon interrupted before his friend could blubber on. “I didn’t call to yell at you. I need your help.” Sheldon swallowed to gather some courage. “Amy is… she’s very upset with me. I-I tried to explain but she didn’t let me finish and then she left to clear her head. But that was over two hours ago and she hasn’t returned yet.”

“Oh… have you tried to call her?”

“Of course, I have. She left her phone at home.” Sheldon said quickly; his panic was getting audible again. “Raj, I’m worried. She could have been in some kind of accident or some pervert could have hurt her, or, or—“

“ _Or_ … she just needs some time to herself.” Raj tried to reason. “Honestly, I’m not very surprised that she wanted to get out for a while. What you said to her was pretty hurtful.”

“I know that!” Now Sheldon yelled at him after all. “That’s why I have to find her. I have to apologize. I can’t lose her over this.” he ranted. “But I also need to be home in case she returns, so… I’m asking if _you_ could look for her.”

“Me? Right now?!”

“Please, Raj, this is important.” Sheldon emphasized desperately.

“Okay, okay, calm down.” Raj surrendered. “I will go out and see if I can find her somewhere. Don’t worry, okay?”

“Alright.” Sheldon forced himself to calm his rapid breathing. “Thank you. Please, keep me informed.”

“I will. Don’t panic, Sheldon.” Raj said again before he hung up.

Staring at his phone once more, Sheldon realized there was nothing else left for him to do but wait. Repeatedly, he looked at his watch, paced some more and wrecked his brain for the right thing to say when Amy comes back.

Should he start with the simple ‘I’m sorry, you were right and I was wrong’ phrase or maybe he could buy her something…? No, that was an empty approach that held absolutely no meaning. Sheldon had learnt that. Should he overwhelm her with a kiss? Maybe even something more to show her that he was sincere? Or could that be viewed as an act of bribery?

How should he know what Amy needed to hear? How could he possibly prevent himself from making everything even worse?

His hearing picked up a fairly new, still unfamiliar sound as the doors of the elevator outside in the hall opened. Someone just arrived on the 4th floor.

“Amy.” Sheldon muttered in relief. He jumped to the door, pulling it open with flourish and startled a perplexed looking Raj who just raised his hand to knock.

“Jeez! Sheldon, you scared the pants off of me.” Raj put a hand to his heart to calm down. Then he entered.

Disappointed, Sheldon closed the door behind him when he realized that he came alone. “I thought you brought Amy.” he said. “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you out there looking for her? I specifically told you that—”

“Sheldon, I realized that I didn’t even know where to start.” Raj explained conciliatory. “And from the way you sounded on the phone, you seemed to need company more urgently than Amy.”

“That’s nonsense, I’m fine. It’s Amy I’m worried about.” Sheldon argued.

“Amy’s a big girl. I’m sure she can take care of herself and when she’s ready she will return back to you.”

“But what if she won’t?” Sheldon’s greatest fear tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop it.

Raj furrowed his brows. “What are you talking about?”

Sheldon pressed his lips together and swallowed. He rested his clenched fists on his lap as he sat down on the sofa to talk. “I’ve hurt her before…” he admitted shamefully. “Unintentionally, of course, but that didn’t stop her from breaking up with me. And she had every right to do so.”

“You guys are married now. She wouldn’t just storm out the door and never return.” Raj stated.

“Wouldn’t she?” Sheldon shot back in desperation. “I mean… dear lord, I hope not, but you should’ve seen her eyes…” he paused, picturing her disappointed face clearly in his unforgettable mind. Her eyes dull and sad, her jaw stubbornly clenched together to keep herself from crying. “I hurt her deeply… because of my own insecurities and because of my self-centeredness.” Sheldon swallowed, looking to the ground. “Amy always has to put up with a lot. I promised her that I would do better; I vowed to her on our wedding day that I will show her every day that I love her, but… I failed her. Again.” Sheldon’s voice trembled but he refused to cry in front of his friend. “What if she won’t be patient with me this time?”

Raj sighed and carefully put a hand to Sheldon’s shoulder. Sheldon was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t even flinch back. “Buddy, you seem to forget that Amy loves you very much, too. Just put a little trust in her.”

“She said that, too, you know. That I don’t seem to trust her enough.” Sheldon remembered.

“And… is that true?”

“Of course not. I would trust Amy with my life. I would endure any kind of struggle or pain to be with her. Nothing is more important to me than Amy and her happiness. Because I’m happy, when she’s happy.” Sheldon ranted passionately. “Like in that moment when we knew we won. There was just so much… joy and gratefulness… for her, that she was there every step of the way with me. Even when we thought our theory got disproved or that those FermiLab idiots would steal the prize from us. Amy was there with me and there’s nothing else that should matter.”

The entrance door closed shut just as Sheldon finished talking. “That’s right.” a new voice spoke up. Startled, he and Raj turned around. “So why does it matter now?” the voice asked.

Amy stood in the doorway. No one heard her enter over Sheldon’s speech, but it was clear that she was standing there at least long enough to hear the last bits of it.

Sheldon couldn’t place the look on her face. Was it still sadness or neutral curiosity to hear his answer? Regardless of her mood, he immediately got up on his feet and hurried over until he stood directly in front of her. The urge to hug her was almost overpowering, but fear stopped him from doing so. “Amy.” he breathed out, relief washing over him. “Y-you forgot your phone. I’ve been trying to call you. I was… I was worried that something could have happened to you.” he spoke to her quietly.

Amy shuffled her feet. “I’m sorry. I thought it was in my bag, but… I forgot that I was charging it.” she said equally quiet.

Sheldon detected movement behind him and soon enough, Raj discreetly filtered out of the apartment.

“I leave you guys to talk this out.” he mentioned before he closed the door behind him.

Silence filled the room. Sheldon and Amy kept standing in the middle of the apartment somewhere between the sofa and the door. Neither of them dared to speak, but both of their glances spoke volumes.

There was evident uncertainty of how they were going to handle this situation. Uncertainty about whether or not they were still fighting.

“I-I didn’t want you to worry.” Amy eventually repeated timidly.

Sheldon waved a hand and took a step closer to her. “It’s fine. You’re here now.” He paused and they stared into each other’s eyes again. “Uhm, I… I guess we should talk… about what happened?” he asked carefully.

Amy nodded. “We should.” Sheldon breathed in to say something when she interrupted him again. “But not right now.”

“Oh… okay.” Sheldon said.

“I returned because I thought I was ready to talk…” Amy explained. “But… seeing you suddenly brought all the disappointment and anger back. I-I don’t think I’d be able to calmly listen to you yet, so… maybe we can talk tomorrow.”

Sheldon’s chest hurt when he heard what she said: _Looking at me causes her to get angry_. He didn’t want her to feel that. He never wanted to cause her to feel that. But Sheldon could only nod at her request. “Do you want me to sleep on the couch?”

Indecisively, Amy shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I guess it would be good for me if you do for one night, but I know it wouldn’t be fair to you. You wouldn’t sleep a wink on our tiny couch.”

“It’s fine.” Sheldon immediately replied again, eager to please her in any way possible. “I’ll manage.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Don’t bother. Go to sleep now. I’ll be…” Sheldon nervously eyed the sofa that was barely even long enough to accommodate his legs. “I’ll be fine out here.” he said and swallowed.

“Okay.” Amy said quietly. “I go to bed. We talk tomorrow, okay?”

Sheldon nodded his head, but his insides screamed at him in agony. He wouldn’t manage to hold out until tomorrow. He wouldn’t be able to even close his eyes without worrying about Amy and the state of their relationship. He watched her turn and walk towards the bedroom door.

 _Now_. He needed to clear this up _now_.

“Amy?” he said before he could stop himself. She turned. “I… I-I just… I need to say one thing.” he stuttered. “Please?”

Amy sighed. “Fine.”

Sheldon clasped his hands tightly at his sides. This was his chance and he was completely blank. What should he say to make it all better? Was there even a way? There were so many things he wanted to say, so much he wanted to apologize for… but he didn’t know where to start. He suddenly didn’t even seem to know how to form words.

Amy was getting impatient, he could tell, and he was getting more and more anxious.

Suddenly, it just burst out of him. One thing that was so overall true that he couldn’t keep it to himself any longer. He couldn’t let her go to bed without her knowing this:

“Amy, I love you.” Sheldon said earnestly. “I need you to remember that… I love you so much. Always and unconditionally.”

Amy pressed her lips together. Her eyes glistened and a small smile formed on her lips. “Well… that’s a good start.”

She wanted to resume walking, but, all of a sudden, Sheldon couldn’t let her anymore. “Amy.” he stopped her again, hurried forward and touched her arm. As she moved around to look at him, his hand slid down until he was holding her hand. “Please. I need to say more.”

“Sheldon.” she sighed, seemingly tired of listening to him. But since she didn’t try to get free from his grip Sheldon continued.

“I am so sorry for what I said earlier. I… I can’t even say how much. I knew at the time that I was disrespectful, but I was too concerned about myself and my own needs that I neglected yours. And… I shouldn’t do that. It’s inexcusable. And yet I’m begging you to forgive me.”

Sheldon paused briefly, giving Amy the chance to get a word in. “I trust that you can understand why I can’t do this so easily this time.” she said. “I can’t just ignore how much my feelings got hurt.”

“I understand.” Sheldon vowed. “I do. I wish I could undo it. I never meant to hurt you.” He could see that Amy wanted to say something again, but this time he didn’t let her. “I know... _I know_ I’ve hurt you before and sometimes…” he shivered with anger at himself. “Sometimes I wish I’d be different. Be someone who hasn’t such a hard time showing affection, reading emotional cues or being selfless. I want to be someone you deserve. Because you’re perfect and I want to be someone who can match that level of perfection.”

Towards the end of his speech, Amy had upheld her free hand, trying to calm his agitated voice. Finally, she rested her hand on his upper arm. “Sheldon… I don’t want you to change what makes you, _you…_ or you wouldn’t be the man I fell in love with.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Sure, sometimes I would prefer it if you would _think_ before you speak… but I can handle that... ultimately. Because I trust you and I know that you love me and that you wouldn’t purposefully hurt me.”

“I wouldn’t.” Sheldon consented readily and squeezed her hand.

Amy smiled slightly. “See. I might need more time to adjust to you sometimes, but I don’t want you to change who you are. Especially, because I’m certainly not perfect, either.”

“You are perfect to me.” Sheldon immediately replied. Amy’s smile grew a bit more. “And I don’t want you to have to adjust to me. I want us to… fit… be equals.”

“I get that. But a relationship is a constant flow of adjustment… of… _change_ , for the lack of a better word.”

Sheldon nodded. “I see that now. I’m sorry that I didn’t talk to you about this. I’m sorry that you felt left out when I talked to Penny. She was… just there when I was on my way out. And sometimes it’s easier talking to her, because I don’t care what she thinks of me. I don’t mind if she disagrees with me or if we butt heads over something, because as much as I love her as a friend… my relationship with her isn’t nearly as important to me as my relationship with you.” Sheldon paused to let that sink in. “That’s why sometimes… I’m afraid.”

“Of what I could think of you?” Amy asked.

“A little, but more because I fear that you could leave me once you realize that I’m too much of a strain on you.” he looked at the ground.

“You’re not a strain on me.” Amy assured him immediately.

“I’m difficult.” Sheldon protested. “I heard that all my life.”

“You are.” Amy stressed. “People can be. But that’s just who you are. Please, I need you to trust that our relationship can withstand that.” She stepped closer to him, brushing her hand against his cheek. “I love you.” she said. “I may get mad or angry or even downright furious with you sometimes… but I won’t leave you. Never again.”

“I love you, too.” Sheldon whispered shyly, not daring to look into her eyes. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. Way better than that Nobel Prize.”

Suddenly, she was all around him. Hugging him tightly like a boa constrictor. He hugged her back, squeezing his eyes shut and trying not to cry. Her scent filled his nostrils. The same as always. The scent of Amy.

That will never change.

“And you _are_ beautiful.” Sheldon whispered into her ear. “I need you to know that, too. I was too upset to realize it earlier, because I was so… overwhelmed… by everything about you. You are my constant. My one safe spot in the universe. The fulcrum of my life. And when you changed… it threw me off my course.”

Amy separated from him to look him in the eyes. Softly, with no traces of anger, she said, “I understand that now, too. A little warning about what I was planning to do would have been appropriate. But no matter how much I change, I’ll always be your constant, okay?”

Sheldon nodded his head timidly. “I’ll remember that.” he promised. “I will also seek to be a better partner to you. We won this prize together and we were supposed to share the whole amazing expereince. By leaving you alone to deal with the aftermath, I feel like I've ruined it for you. I should have been there for you."

“Well, I’m just as excited as before about winning…” Amy explained. “But you’re right. You should have been there. I really needed my constant, too.”

Guiltily, Sheldon eyed the floor. “I’m sorry.” he pressed out.

Amy took both of his hands, waiting until he was looking at her again. “You’re forgiven.” she smiled.

“Really? Because there is still something I need to say.” Sheldon told her. “It’s what I should have said to you if I had only been there for you instead of hiding in my office today.”

“And what’s that?” Amy asked him curiously.

Sheldon smiled thankfully at her and lifted his hand to gently stroke her wavy, short hair behind her ear. “I would’ve reminded you… that looks don’t matter to me.”

Amy furrowed her brows. “You might wanna rephrase that.”

“But it’s true, Amy.” Sheldon said and when Amy still didn’t look convinced he added, “Let me explain… You changed your appearance because you felt insecure, right?”

“Yes.” Amy nodded warily.

“Well, if I had been the one there for you instead of Raj, I would’ve told you that it doesn’t matter to me if you have straight, long or curly, short hair. If you wear woolly, soft cardigans or fancy dress-suits. If your glasses are red or black-rimmed. I’d love you either way, because I love you for _you_ not for the way you choose to dress. I love your mind and your kindness and your incomparable patience with me. I love all of the inner you as much as the outer you. I love you no matter how much you’ll change… and I promise that’s a constant you and me both can rely on.”

Amy’s breath left her in a thankful sigh. With her eyes teary and her cheeks red from blushing, she threw her arms around him, pulled him down to her level and kissed him fiercely. Sheldon immediately reciprocated. Shyly first, then bolder. His hands encircled her waist and he pulled her close.

And they didn’t let go, didn’t stop once while Amy was pulling him backwards into their bedroom.

That made it three times more than Penny has fingers.

Later, when they lay in bed together, happy and breathless, Sheldon propped up on his elbow and gazed down at his wife from the side. Amy was still wheezing rapidly, her chest rising and falling beneath the blanket. He lifted his hand again and stroked her hair back.

“I got to be honest with you, Amy…” he said somewhat melancholically. “Even though I'm sure I can learn to deal with the universal exigency for change... I will really miss running my fingers through your long, silky hair.”

Amy smiled lazily and pulled him down for a kiss. “Maybe I’ll let it grow a little bit for you.” she whispered against his lips.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave some comments if you enjoyed this missing scene moment! :)  
> Long live The Shamy!


End file.
